Key Moments in Rahul Gandhi’s Career

Rahul Gandhi, pictured, was elected vice president of the Congress party on Saturday.

India’s ruling Congress party elevated Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, to the post of vice president at a high-profile meeting in the desert city of Jaipur on Saturday. The 42-year-old politician, widely tipped as a future prime ministerial candidate, embraced his appointment with an emotional address.

Mr. Gandhi’s long-awaited appointment comes at a time when the party is battling claims of poor governance and is in dire need of an image makeover. It remains to be seen whether the politician can change its fortunes. Here are some of the highlights from Mr. Gandhi’s political career:

Associated Press

Mr. Gandhi in Amethi, March 29, 2004.

Entry to politics: Mr. Gandhi entered India’s lower house of Parliament, the Lok Sabha, in the 2004 federal elections after winning in Amethi, a district in Uttar Pradesh state previously held by his mother, Congress President Sonia Gandhi. The seat has been held by various Nehru-Gandhi family members and is viewed as one of the safest Congress seats in the country.

Reelection: In 2009, Mr. Gandhi won reelection in Amethi, more than doubling his margin of victory over the candidate from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. He addressed over 100 rallies during the campaign and was credited with helping lift Congress’s vote tally in Uttar Pradesh. In those elections, Congress bagged 21 Lok Sabha seats out of a possible 80 in the state during the 2009 federal polls, up 12 seats from 2004.

State Poll Failure: Mr. Gandhi’s attempts to build on this during state-level polls in Uttar Pradesh last year fell flat. Congress was hoping to dislodge two local parties that have governed Uttar Pradesh for two decades. Mr. Gandhi led a number of rallies. But his campaign failed to change the party’s fortunes, with the Congress winning a total of 28 out of 403 state assembly seats, a marginal increase from the 22 seats it won during state elections in 2007.

Mr. Gandhi later issued a public apology, claiming he takes “full responsibility” for the party’s dismal performance and calling for introspection within the party on what went wrong.

Grass Roots Fiasco: Mr. Gandhi, in the run-up to those state polls, supported villagers from near Noida in Uttar Pradesh who were protesting land acquisition in the area. Two policemen and two farmers had died in clashes over land. Seven women from the villages allege police raped them in May 2011 in reprisals for the protests.

Mr. Gandhi visited the areas. Shortly after he was arrested by local police for allegedly disturbing public order after taking part in protests alongside the villagers. He was released the same day without charges. The next day, he urged local authorities to look into the allegations of rape. A court in Noida over a year ago ordered charges to be filed against 30 police officers in the case. The officers involved deny wrongdoing. The trial has yet to begin.

Criticism in Congress: Mr. Gandhi has failed to take strident positions on major issues, earning him some criticism, even from within Congress. Last year, then-Law Minister Salman Khurshid blamed Mr. Gandhi’s lack of “ideological direction” for the poor showing in the Uttar Pradesh state elections. “Until now… we have only seen cameos of his thoughts and ideas,” said Mr. Khurshid, who is now foreign minister.

Silence over Delhi Rape: Mr. Gandhi, dubbed India’s “youth icon” by local media, drew flak from protesters for his silence over the gang rape and death last month of a young woman in the capital, an incident which unleashed a wave of protests calling for stronger law enforcement and strict anti-rape laws. Mr. Gandhi condemned the attack in a brief statement last month, but was far from leading the agitation, a fact which didn’t go unnoticed by youths. “Where is Rahul G. youth leader. We are here,” a banner read at a recent protest in the capital.

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